The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

It is difficult to take full advantage of new hardware. When something as unique as the Nintendo DS launches, developers must stagger in imaginative pleasure and sheer terror. What is fully possible? How do we make this work? Indeed, even Nintendo could not provide an answer to these questions early on. But with Phantom Hourglass, Nintendo provides its definitive statement on the capabilities of the Nintendo DS…or at least tries its best to do so.

Phantom Hourglass picks up precisely where The Wind Waker left off. Having defeated Ganon, Link and Tetra (i.e. Zelda) are out and about on their pirate ship, on the lookout for a mysterious ghost ship. The action picks up after the ghost ship hits the scene and disappears again with Tetra on board while Link falls overboard and wakes up washed ashore on an unfamiliar island. Although this is your typical “save the princess” scenario that has been played out countless times before, there are enough revelations and plot twists to keep things fresh. Indeed, it feels like the story was actually given at least some measure of development and forethought absent in other recent Zelda adventures such as Twilight Princess. But where the presentation in Phantom Hourglass is most engrossing by far is its unique visuals.

Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to the GameCube’s The Wind Waker. It is not surprising then that Phantom Hourglass uses the exact same light-hearted cell-shaded approach. There was quite a kerfuffle regarding this approach when The Wind Waker was in development; many voiced their disapproval, preferring a more mature approach. I sit on the other side of the fence: I love the look. It also works very well with what the DS is able to push, and the DS replicates it beautifully. Characters are expressive, the world is bright and beautiful, and the animations and special effects are really top notch. The game comes alive with this visual style, and is all the better for it.

Whilst the visuals suck you in, the controls do their best to do the same. Everything, and I mean everything, in Phantom Hourglass is controlled via the stylus. There are options to use certain buttons for certain things, but they are not necessary. First and most obvious is movement, which is simply accomplished by pressing on where you want Link to travel. The further away from Link you are pressing, the faster he runs. To say this is intuitive is an understatement. Yet, this simple innovation is only a fraction of the plethora of gameplay that utilizes the touch screen.

Like every Zelda, Phantom Hourglass throws as many different play dynamics at you as it can. Many different weapons, for instance, open up new possibilities. This is not news, but the use that some of the weapons make of the touch screen is. Perhaps the best example is a derivation of the hookshot, a grapple hook with a rope attached to it. By selecting the weapon you can simply tap an attach point and the grapple and rope will fling out, attach itself, and pull you over. Not quite impressive. But you can also draw a line between points and the rope then becomes a tightrope to walk across. Even more impressive is that once that rope is strung across two points it can be used like a slingshot: by guiding Link to the rope you can drag down on the stylus until the rope stretches as far as it can, and then by releasing the stylus Link is flung upwards and forwards. Little touches such as this serve to bring the game to life and offer completely engrossing gameplay.

The swordplay is also touch controlled: by simply swiping the stylus quickly Link will take a swipe of his sword. By swirling the stylus in a circle, Link will do a spin attack. You can also simply tap on enemies and Link will strike that particular one. Boss fights in the game are really fantastic with multiple elements of touch screen control coupled with clever usage of certain weapons. Besides combat, you will also be required to draw shapes on doors and tablets in order to solve puzzles or progress in the game. To that end, Phantom Hourglass seems to have implemented an excellent recognition system. Whilst travelling by boat you will have to draw your ships’ course on a map, then your ship will automatically follow that course in real-time. What’s more, you can mark and draw on your maps. This proves to be a very useful (and a heavily promoted) aspect of the game. At some point you will also be required to use the mic and even the clam shell design of the DS. There truly is a great deal of DS functionality woven into every little aspect of the game. And it all works…well, mostly.

The touch controls still need work, as they are considerably less than perfect. Swiping the screen as a means for combat is not precise and will often lead to frustration. Also, performing forward somersaults is a complete crapshoot as it rarely works when you wish it to. There are also other smaller issues such as not being able to move Link when he has certain weapons like the grapple and bow and arrow equipped; he is effectively glued to the spot until you unequip the item. But by far the worst criticism of this game is the fact that because the game plays itself on the lower touch screen, your hand and stylus are always in the way. This is especially bad if you are right handed and want Link to move to the left: you must move your stylus and hand across to the left, thus effectively blocking the screen. You will find yourself performing acrobatics just to get your hand and stylus out of the way to find out what is going on. This does not ruin the game, mind you, but it most definitely draws you out of the experience. Nintendo could have, should have, simply moved the gameplay action screen to the top screen instead.

Aside from all of Phantom Hourglass’ unique features, you will find a very solid Zelda adventure on par with any other entry in the series. You will move from island to island and dungeon to dungeon uncovering new lands, enemies, treasures, friends, and other goodies along the way. You will travel by boat across vast stretches of ocean, which involves enough activity to keep you occupied for hours. For example, your ship itself is customizable with different parts for its hull, cannon, anchor, prow and whatnot, found throughout the world. Many of these parts can be found in chests on the ocean floor and retrieved by sending down your salvage arm and launching a mini-game where you guide the arm through obstacles and danger, pick up the chest, then guide it safely back. Even in this one simple aspect, there is a lot to do.

Dungeons are varied and quite well designed with some daunting puzzles to solve. The puzzles make great use of the touch controls, mostly in the form of the equipment you have picked up along the way. When these puzzles come together well, they are incredibly satisfying to take on and complete. It is too bad, however, that time to time a rage-inducing puzzle element will present itself, and the solution is neither logical nor fair to the player. One such example actually required fully shutting and opening the DS system itself! There was but a very vague hint about mirror images which was supposed to indicate the solution, so I was ultimately forced to get the answer online. I hate being forced to do this, and it has been sticking in my craw ever since.

It must also be mentioned that the game forces the player to repeat a particular dungeon over and over again. This particular dungeon is where the Phantom Hourglass of the title comes into play: while enough sand remains in the hourglass, you are protected from the toxic atmosphere. Once the hourglass runs out, you will lose energy quickly. This dynamic creates an unwelcome sense of urgency and stress. Each time you return you will delve deeper into the dungeon to get another item that will allow you to carry on elsewhere. But each time you return the dungeon, it resets itself and you have to repeat what you have already accomplished. It is not a game killer, but it could have been handled a lot better given that it feels like a cheap grab at extending play time.

Phantom Hourglass also sports a surprisingly well developed player vs. player online game. In it, you and a rival play on one of eight maps trying to collect gems and bring them back to your goal area thus scoring points. One player controls Link while the other controls three separate Phantoms (large armoured knights) by drawing their routes on the touch screen. The round ends either when time runs out or a Phantom catches Link. At the end of the round the players switch from Link to Phantom and vice versa. The maps vary in size and complexity with different power-ups strewn about them. When Link grabs a gem he moves much more slowly and is therefore much more susceptible to getting caught. It plays out very much like a game of cat and mouse and offers up the kind of tense thrills you might expect. It will certainly put some legs on a game that would otherwise collect dust once the main story is completed. It would have been a more compelling addition if it offered team-based play, as the design would seem to lend itself well to that kind of fun gameplay.